


At the Harbor

by sailorgreywolf



Series: Historical Hetalia Week 2020 [4]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Brotherly Bonding, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:22:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,105
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23631544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sailorgreywolf/pseuds/sailorgreywolf
Summary: A young Germany shows his older brother his new technological marvel, which he hopes will match England. Prussia encourages his brother’s interests.
Relationships: Germany & Prussia (Hetalia)
Series: Historical Hetalia Week 2020 [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1701136
Kudos: 23





	At the Harbor

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into 中文-普通话 國語 available: [【授翻】在海港](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29432757) by [dort](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dort/pseuds/dort)



The sun was glinting off the still water of the harbor as Prussia stepped onto the gangplank. Germany was already aboard, and had told him excitedly that he wanted to show him the new ship.

He had taken a moment to prepare himself to be encouraging, even if the Navy was not his forte. Prussia had always been strongest on land, and never felt quite at home on a ship. Fritz had said that it was not worth the effort for a country with little sea access to spend money on ships. He had only built a few ships before the unification of Germany.

But Germany had talked excitedly about the new navy he was building the whole long trip from Berlin. It had been so endearing to see him get so excited. He had the tendency when he was proud of something to talk about it to Prussia, so that he could get reassurance that he was doing well.

Prussia took the steps up the gangplank. It was a cloudless day, a rarity in this part of the country. There was sun bouncing off the metal hull and the surface of the water.

Prussia lifted one hand to shield his eyes. Then he could make out the figure of his brother on deck. Germany had his arms folded behind his back like he was trying to maintain military decorum, but Prussia could see the way he was lightly bouncing on the balls of his feet.

He had grown so much since the crowning in Versailles, and looked like a man now. But, he still had these childish mannerisms, even when he was trying to hide it. Prussia had found himself hoping that Germany would not grow up too quickly, or lose the earnest, dedicated boy that he had been.

He refused to believe that he was scared of the idea of his brother becoming an adult. He had prepared him for this for years, and he would have been a fool to try to keep him young. He had laid the groundwork for Germany to grow up, so he knew he should not feel melancholy that it was paying off.

He reached the deck and stood in front of Germany, who was now openly smiling. Prussia said, “Now, what did you want to show me.”

Germany looked like he was ready to recite a whole speech that he had been working on in his mind. He turned and gestured to the whole expanse of the deck and said proudly, “This!”

It looked like it had just been recently launched. The metal guns were shining like they had been polished, and there were sailors scuttling about in white Kreigsmarine uniforms. The second thing that he noticed was that the ship seemed to stretch on forever.

Prussia would readily admit that the navy was where his military knowledge was weakest, but he was certain that this was the largest ship he had ever seen.

Germany decided he had waited long enough for his brother to take in the sight, and started talking, “I had this made. It has just as many guns as England’s new battleship. I made sure that mine could match his.”

Prussia nodded and smiled, knowing that was all he needed to do to get his brother to keep talking. He felt a warm glow in his cheeks as he listened. Germany would get so excited once he found something he was interested in.

Prussia said, “It is a very impressive ship. Do you want to show me all of the guns?” He knew that he couldn’t do much to comment on the ship, but a tour would surely make Germany happy.

Predictably, the young man nodded excitedly, and said, “I would love to.” Prussia followed him as he started talking in earnest. Germany started explaining, “I have been working on this design for two years. I wanted to make something bigger and faster than anything England has. These are the heaviest guns we could mount in these casements.”

He stopped and patted the side of a gun affectionately. He looked up at it with a beaming smile, like a proud parent. Prussia couldn’t help but think that he had done well to nurture his brother’s interest in the sciences.

Since he was a young, Germany had always been more attentive to his lessons in science. Prussia had tried to educate him in all the princely subjects, including philosophy and Latin.

But, Germany had an aptitude for applying himself to engineering. Prussia had eventually relented and allowed him to focus on what he liked. He knew that Germany was a man of a new age, and he would need to be well equipped for it. Technology like this would define the next wars, and it would be important for Germany to know it well.

Now that he was seeing how proud Germany was looking up proudly at his own creation, he felt like he had made the right decision. He replied, with what he hoped was a playful smirk, “It sounds like you are planning to start a war against England.”

Germany’s face fell as he took the comment slightly too seriously. He said, “No, not at all. But he has the strongest navy in the world, and I want to have something just as good.”

Prussia decided that this was a good moment for a lesson, even if he had not meant it seriously. He said, “Well, that is good, because we do not have a plan for that kind of war. You are doing well by being prepared, but never start a fight if you aren’t already two steps ahead.”

Germany nodded attentively, always the good listener. He responded, patting the gun again as he did so, “I know. I don’t want a war yet, but I do not want to feel like we will be at a disadvantage if we do get in a fight. I want to do well when I do go to war, because I want to make you proud.”

Prussia could see a red flush creep into his brother’s cheeks. He could pretend that it was the sun on his skin turning it red, but he knew that reaction too well.

He stepped forward and put both of his hands on his brother’s shoulders. He said, in the tone he reserved for being a comforting big brother, “This is very impressive already, Ludwig. I am proud of you no matter what.”

He saw the softening in Germany’s blue eyes and knew his message had gotten through. Germany nodded and said, “Let me show you the rest.”


End file.
